New Area & New Comp

Good Afternoon Family and Friends!

 

Its Elder Crapo Reporting here and I'm doing pretty good.... I'm in a new area now! Simi Valley! And I am still serving in two wards! ON BIKES! Its a huge area and it is super slow right now.  As of now we have 0 investigators and 0 potential investigators.  All we do is hit doors and talk to EVERYONE  we see.  This area hasnt had a whole lot of success but that's why they sent me here! ;)  Anyways, we cover the Santa Sussana 3rd ward and the Simi Valley 3rd ward.  And yes, it is like Bakersfield here right now.  Its been around 90-110 everyday, i'm sweating bucket loads here!  But let me tell ya how my week went!

 

Monday 8-22-11

We were going to monday funday when we got the call.  We pulled over and answered the phone, they white washed Tehachapi ward which means Two new elders are serving there! Funny thing is, is that both those elders served in my old wards so they've been to tehachapi before... funny thing again is, they both only have 1 transfer left so as soon as they leave they will have to white wash Tehachapi ward again! So Crazy... i dont know if this was inspired because the kid i replaced here in Simi took my place... we just switched companions and switched areas... it was way weird. But i found out that my new Companion was Elder Jenkins from Starvalley Wyhoming! And he said he had heard of Ben, but never really met him.

 

Then basically all day i packed my things and saw as many people as possible.  I love Tehachapi so much, i'm going back some day.  People just love you there. I miss it a lot already.

 

Tuesday 8-23-11

Brother Moffatt took us to transfer meeting, that was pretty cool.  Didnt think he would do that but he did and it was a lot of fun.

 

Took us about... 2 hours to get to Ventura.

 

We got all switched up and met my new companion. I found out there, that i would be riding a bike! And since i didnt bring the bike Pulham left me, Elder Campbell (the elder i replaced) left me his bike and told me we could switch later.  I felt bad because the bike he lent me is a $350 bike! If that gets stollen or damaged... i'll feel so bad.  So i'm doing my best to take care of it!  Maybe the parents could sent me scotts bike that he sent home? That would be nice, because i dont have the money to buy a bike at all....

 

Anyways we left for our apartment... which is a garage.  And it is tiny.  I pretty much leave my things in a suitcase because i have no place to put them.  The apartment is really hot and the people who own it hate it when we put the AC on.... plus there is a vent that connects from the garage to the house so when she cooks her stinky food, it flows into our room, its such a great surprise after coming home from a hard days work to walk into your apartment and smell death.... ok its not that bad, but its not good!  We also have bunk beds which stinks... i dont think they're ment to be bunk beds, they are just two beds stacked on top of each other that are REALLY wobbly, but its ok i sleep on the top bunk so if i fall i have a really nice soft tile floor to catch me! haha

 

My companion Elder Jenkins is a... cool guy?  He wants to be a composer when he grows up so he listens to a lot of movie music.  He's been out 20 months and i guess he suffers from severe depression...  He's kind of odd when he talks to people and is kind of a moocher, trying to make people feel bad for us so that they will give us rides or feed us... But for the most part he has a good heart and does the work... so i dont care, as long as we are working that is all i care about.  But as you could probably guess we have to have talks every now and then to set him straight...

 

We went shopping with the other elders who are actually the spanish missionaries.  Elder Graff who is way cool and he is training Elder Coles who reminds me of Cousin Landon a lot!

 

We came back to the apartment after shopping and did some planning then went to dinner, and stopped off at a few places.  Got me a helmet from a member and walked around and spoke to people.  Actually ran into a Paranoid Scitsofraniac who was SUPER DRUNK and not on his meds... i kind of feared for my life because he had a big group of friends riding around us on bikes and the Scitso wanted to fight us... haha i just kept looking at my wristband that says W.W.J.D. (what would jesus do) and i just was trying to be nice even though my insides were saying "knock this sucka out" haha  Or i could just cause him to be swept away by a wave of the ocean... jesus would do that right?  Anyways the guy was WAY crazy!  and doing some way weird things and saying really in appropriate things about ladies and stuff that made me want to hurt him.  But we kept our cool... elder Jenkins kind of froze up... so i kept my cool and just left.

 

Then he had me plan our next day... why would i do that? I know nothing abut this area? haha but i guess its easy when all you have to do is tract right?

 

Wednesday 8-24-11

We had district meeting and that went well.  The Zone Leaders live close to us so they are always around, there is one from New Zealand who is way cool, his name is Elder Peterson.

 

Then my companion showed me how to solve a rubix cube so if you'd be so kind as to send me one that would be awesome ;) So i can practice!

 

Then we just contacted people and ate dinner at an old couples home.

 

We got a ride home in a way cool old Ford Truck... REALLY old.

 

Then we went on splits with the ward mission leader.  I think splits are stupid... but oh well.

 

I guess they think that i was "Chosen by got" to come to this area because there is a lady they are teaching and her maiden name was Crapo... My last name is not going to get her to join the church...  but i can! :D

 

My comp got kind of depressed later that night... when i started working out... he got jealous cuz he says he has no motivation to do it, but i've got him on a routine now that gets him up and working out every morning.

 

Thursday 8-25-11

Woke up and played frisbee with the district, it was a lot of fun but too easy.  They think i'm a pro or someting? They are just noobs ;)

 

Then we came home and showered and did our studies, shower  by the way is TINY! haha you have to turn the shower on and of to get all washed.

 

We went to walmart for elder Jenkins, he had an optomitrist appointment, appearently his vision is changing and his glasses are giving him bad head aches... kind of hindering the work. He found out his new prescription and the presidents wife called his parents but they dont have the money to pay for it.  So i told him i'd do it... i know i cant really spare the money to do it for him but i guess a little act of charity wouldnt hurt.

 

We went tracting as usualy and got way sweaty, and my legs hurt and my bum is getting saddle sore but i love it, being on a bike you get excersize and you get to talk to everyone you see! So i like it a lot.. maybe not the sweaty part though...

 

We stopped at the church to cool off and then left, but when we left Jenkins realized he left some things at the church so we had to go back, making us late for dinner which was at the other end of our area! So needless to say i've never ridden a bike so fast in my life through traffic and stuff. it was crazy! I'm so slow though, haha i need more bike endurance because i'm used to sittin in the truck!

 

We ate a strange dinner and then went on splits AGAIN, and then we got some shakes and came in.

 

Friday 8-26-11

It was a long, hot and humid day, it rained a little in the morning and then when it got hot it was just STICKY NASTY!

 

we did our weekly planning at the church, didnt take long because of all the investigators we have.

 

Then we had lunch at some other elders apartment and took a little nap.

 

Then we did TONS of contacting, no one was home.

 

And that's it... all we did was tract all night.

 

Saturday 8-27-11

My bike was broke... like the chain broke off so i needed to get a new master link.  But i got a quick link instead it works though.

 

We pretty much ran errands all day with one of the ward missionaries.  He is really cool.

 

Then we went to Costco's where i bought Elder Jenkins Glasses... they were pretty pricey... but just think charity! His family is having a hard time putting food on the table i guess so they cant help at all... i felt bad what else was i going to do? He was really appreciative though.

 

So for dinner there is this member that i guess is super wealthy.  He asked me where we wanted to go for dinner, and i heard that five guess had just opened so he took us there.  And i learned more about this guy.  He is so loaded! His son gets $500 a week for allowance, he'll buy you anything and everything if you ask, his house is huge, his swimming pool changes colors and he's sick of his car so he's just going to go buy a Nissan 370 Z! CRAZY!! But he is a way awesome guy, he reminds me of some people i've met... i dont know who? But he's kind of stuck up just because he's so rich, like at five guys he said our food was cold so he made them re cook everything! haha  But that's his job, he's like a restaurant inspector kind of guy.  He travels all over the states all day.  Like he hits at least 2 different states a day.

 

And then he took us home

 

Sunday 8-28-11

Sunday was long, not as long as Tehachapi but i like tehachapi so this felt longer because i didnt like it.  The Members are kind of flakey they dont really like missionaries... 

 

I wish we were in the YSA ward because they look like they have tons of fun.  One of our wards is PACKED and the other is Barren.  We had to speak for a few minutes at one of them, about prayer... that was easy i guess?

 

We ate dinner at a nice little families home... And then we went out riding our bikes contacting people and then we went to a members house.  So yeah.. it was an ok day?

 

But that is it for my main letter!  Sorry its long, i cant write this long too often anymore, we have to be on a certain time limit now :(  But i love you guys! I hope you are all doing well and i will see you all in a little less than 18 months! BYE!!!

Pictures 8/22/11

Some of the Elders in My District

This is miguel With pictures of Bruce Lee that Christine Brimhall Drew for him

That's the Johnson Family

Thats Brother and Sister Layne

Some of the Elders in My District

Some of the Elders in My District

thats tyler and travis and their friends and family

Thats Chester, Carolina, Collin, and Conor Chapman

thats brother and Sister Thomas

Burning my 6 Month Tie!

the Bethkes!

me and Max!

john and Michelle King

the last day of monday funday :(

TRANSFERS!!!

FAMILY AND FREINDS!!!

 

I'm leaving Tehachapi tomorrow! :(  I love this place and i got the call that i will be leaving tomorrow to go to Simi Valley! Its going to be so weird! No more awesome service, roping llamas, double church! What am i  going to do!?!? i'm actually kind of excited... The only thing that stinks though is that i've been working my tail off this transfer and now that everyone we are teaching is showing signs of progression... I'M LEAVING!!!! Bogus! So dont send anymore items, letters or packages to the Tehachapi address, just send everything to the Mission office in ventura, it seems to get here pretty quick. I got the package mum sent me, thank you very much, the CD's are good! and the protein bars have not been opened yet.. maybe someday.  anyways... now that you know that important stuff let me tell ya about my week...

 

Monday 8-15-11

Had Breakfast at the Leishmans and played some games..

 

Moved to the church and took care of our email business!

 

I Got 3 letters in the mail! Woo Hoo!

 

Then i wrote letters back... (this is a very practical p-day)

 

The YSA Went out and got us lunch it was way cool!

 

Then we did some shopping.

 

Got ready and went to the Johnsons for dinner.  There were a lot of people there and we had a BBQ.  It was a lot of fun and i got pictures with a whole bunch of families that i will try and remember to send to be posted on the blog.

 

Tuesday 8-16-11

My companion flooded the bathroom with his massive #2 he took... Like water went EVERYWHERE!!! and we didnt have a plunger!  So we had to go to the other elders apartment and borrow their plunger.  While we were there we were just talking and Elder Carrera knows the way to get on my nerves sometimes, and the only time he ever did it is when he would steal my name tag, cuz when he does that my pass along cards and everything in my pocket goes flying everywhere, so he did that, and i kind of blew up on him for a short 5 seconds... i felt so bad...  I havent gotten real angry since i've been out... and elder Carrera was like tramatized because he'd never seen me get angry. But now he knows not to take my name tag, it drives me nuts!  But poor Carrera goes home the 23! haha poor guy!

 

We went and did Mormon.org at the church. and we also fixed our toilet...

 

Then we went to the warings for lunch... it was pretty.... gross. I dont know why they wanted us over, they said they were going to have a meeting but we ended up eating lunch their and that was it.  My stomach hurt after eating there haha.

 

Then we called Pulham because we needed information about a Recent Convert, he gave us all the info and actually called her and spoke with her.

 

Then we went and visited grandma and tom.  Tom said he wanted to do some scripture study sometime which was really cool. This guy has a huge heart but doenst seem like the kind of guy who would want to learn mor about the gospel. It was a big shock.

 

Then we visited Randy and Sister Bennett.  The Moffatts were there (Because sister moffatt is the bennetts daughter) and it was her birthday and they were having cupcakes and stuff.

 

Then we went to dinner with an awesome family, their name is really hard to pronounce or spell and i dont want to butcher it, but they are way cool lets just leave it at that!

 

Then we came in and Sister Moor called and cried her heart out to me because of tom. She is in love with him and any sign of him joining the church is a miracle to her.  So she is super excited

 

Wednesday 8-17-11

We went to the other elders to take them to the Chiropractor.

 

The Chiro went great. My back as kind of sore from monday night carrying little abby johnson on my shoulders all nght haha, but the chiro fixed it all up for me.

 

 Then we went and stayed in the apartment a little bit.  My companion was feeling sick and didnt feel like doing much of anything except sleeping.

 

 Then we went to Stallion and talked to a new lady in alpine Forrest.

 

No one else was really home so we went back to the apartment to get some things.  Then went to the Laynes for dinner, it was pretty sweet.  I think because of them i would name my kid Conel.  Just because of Conel Layne, he's such a cool guy.

 

Thursday 8-18-11

Had district meeting, it was pretty goooooood. We took all the other missionaries to Subway because we had coupons and gift cards.

 

Then we went and sawe Tyler and Travis, they didnt really care that i was leaving.

 

Then we ate dinner with the Clarks which are a less active family.  They moved into a new home.  The husband who is a Jew actually is showing interest in the church again, doesnt look so out of it now.  I really hope the Missionaries here go see him.

 

Then we went to Brother Welch's house, he just got done with surgery on his ribs which stick out down by his stomach, i guess the surgery didnt do much cuz they look the same...

 

Friday 8-19-11

We had a lot of set appointments.

 

We went to Chesters house in the morning and spoke with him for a while and saw his new baby.  Also got a good picture with the family.

 

Then sister Alvis cancelled...

 

Then we visited a guy Randy Bennett wanted us to go see out in stallion, he's a pretty lonely guy... his wife died not too long ago and he really appreciated the visit.

 

Then we ate a quick lunch and went back out and taught the Salyers family.

 

Then we went to the Thomas' and had a really heated conversation with brother Thomas about prayer... he just wont pray because he doesnt believe it works....

 

Then we went and contacted a Referral, it went really well their daughter was just baptized in Oildale and the love the Elders and want us to come over for dinner! It was a really good visit, they have some w.o.w. problems but they are so awesome... i think they will be baptized too.

 

Then we went to the Searfoss' house, they are pretty cool, we had dinner with them.  I guess brother Searfoss used to be an astronaut, maybe dad has heard of him? But look him up its pretty cool the things he's done.

 

Then we went and mowed a lawn at the Maxfields, they gave us food and money for food, it was pretty sweet.

 

It was a really busy day, we saw a lot of people!

 

Saturday 8-20-11

Pretty slow day... we just went to the Tehachapi Mountain Festival WHICH WAS SICK!!! There were so many people there it was awesome. We walked around for a while trying to give out pass along cards and stuff.

 

Then we went to the Bethkes and burned a tie for my six month mark.  I have pictures! I'll try and remember to send them! haha

 

Sunday 8-21-11

Was a pretty simple day.  Just had church as usual. 

 

Ate dinner at the De Silvas, Sven made burgers which were way good! Then we went to John & Michelle Kings house... I'm going to miss them a lot!

 

Anyways that was pretty much my week... sorry that it was a little smaller and sketchy, i had to type this email fast so that i can go to the apartment and pack! But i hope you are all doing well! I wanna hear from you all! SO WRITE ME DANGIT! hahaha  Next letter i'll send i will be in Simi Valley! YAY!

 

Bye Bye! Love you all!

 

Elder Crapo

Roping llamas

Six Months Tomorrow!

Hello Everyone! 

 Thanks for your emails and stuff, i didnt have as many as last week...
but maybe the mailbox will be super full when i check it later today
;) Anyways it was good to hear how things are going at home! 

 So real quick i gotta clear some things up with the llama rangling
stuff. Mum, the reason we rope these llamas is to mark them, which
you saw us do in the pictures and that way brother Moats knows which
ones are males, so that way he knows which ones to shoot and kill.
Because he only wants 6 and he has like... 10 right now... So without
the boys that means no more llamas. He actually invited us over to
help him... kill them haha. He really does kill them, we were picking
up trash around his property the other day and we saw a dead llama
laying on the ground all decayed out. It reaked! But it just proved
that brother moats is not joking when he says he doesnt care about
these animals at all! 

 Anyways! Onto my week! 

 Monday 8-8-11 

We had monday funday of course. I wasnt feeling good that day.. i
actually havent felt well all week. So that day i stayed in. I was
coughing a ton and didnt want to cough all over our investigators
haha. 

 Tuesday 8-9-11 

Went to the Leishmans in the morning to give their daughter Beth a
blessing. She is having surgery on her foot... i've seen the
aftermath... it looks really painful. 

 Sister alvis cancelled our appointment so we went to the chiropractor instead.

 Then we stayed in because i still wasnt feeling well :( 

 We went to brother moats' house later to help him with some cleaning
up his property, and didng a hole around a pipe that's leaking. I got
REALLY muddy. But they fed us dinner and it was AMAZING! They have
the best dinners over there. 

 Then we went to the kings and had smores. We also had a competition.
She told us before we came over to wear our ugliest ties. I have
inherited a bunch of ugly ties but i let elder Winward choose the
ugliest. I won the competition and she gave me a way nice tie! It was
very awesome of her! 

 Wednesday 8-10-11 

We went to Bakersfield for Zone Conference... Talk about fun... From
8:30 AM to 5pm non stop talking, teaching, training, role playing...
its pretty long. Anyways it felt like it went a million times quicker
than last time though... 

 Then i went on exchanges with Elder Lifungula. From Africa. That was
a lot of fun. I stayed there all the way till Friday Morning.
Working in Bakes makes me appreciate Tehachapi a lot more. 

 That night we taught a Less Active lady and i was able to give her
friend who just had eye surgery a blessing! That was cool! 

 Thursday 8-11-11 

It was about 100 Degrees all day in the Armpit of california. 

 We did some service in the morning and then ate lunch. 

 We contacted lots of people and had an awesome lesson with a less
active guy. He didnt understand the plan of salvation, or life, or
anything... kind of why he fell away from the church. And this was
one of my favorite teaching times because i taught him in a way that
he totally understood! It was awesome! I think he had a whole new
prespective on life. 

 Then we had dinner twice. Once at McDonalds and then when we dropped
the other elders off at their dinner appointment they invited us in
and had some meat loaf... it was strange and the family was crazy. I
literally watched the mom take a whole bottle of water and dump it on
her son while he was sitting on the couch. She was like squirting
them when they misbehaved haha. Kind of funny, weird for the house
though.. 

 Then we taught a book of mormon class which was pretty cool. We had
an awesome lesson and activity. It went well and we gave a lady a
blessing. 

 Then after that we went to a guys house who has what i have and he's
getting ready to go to the hospital. And we gave him a blessing. So
in one exchange we gave 3 blessings! 

 Friday 8-12-11 

We woke up at 6:30 and immediately left for Arvin to exchange back. 

 We went home and got ready for the day. 

 Did weekly planning at the other elders apartment because i still
wasnt feeling good :( I'm almost better! While we were there and had
nothing to do. We also invented a comic sketch. Me and Elder Nyland
are going to be huge when we get home, we will also make videos and
things when we get home since he lives in west jordan. We'll call
ourselves NYPO PRODUCTIONS! The Comic strip is called llama man! Its
amazing. 

 We went to the jacobsons and mad them dinner. Elder Winward made
french toast with home made syrup, and it was amazing. Then i made
dessert! Guess what i made? Yep! Blintzes! They loved them. They were
very impressed with our cooking skills. We also had two non members
there that we taught! Yay! 

 Then we went to the De Silvas and ate another dinner with them ugh! so
much food! Then we watched the joseph smith movie with Megan and Sven!
YES! He loved it. It was really spiritual. 

 We also came back and saw miguel and Kim. Miguel said he cried when
he found out i had left for Bakersfield! Thats going to be the hard
thing of leaving this area, there are so many people i'm attached to
that i dont want to leave :( But also i think i may be leaving here
next week... transfers are coming up and i have a feeling i will
leave. I've been here 4 transfers, 5.5 months! 

 Saturday 8-13-11

 Went and ate at the Leishmans. My comp made his syrup again! Its amazing! haha

 Me and my comp were both feeling sick so we stayed in and slept most
of the time.

 Then we went out and contacted some people. One of them being a
family that is all pretty much active except the husband and he wants
to be able to take his wife to the temple. So now he's going to take
the lessons. He has a huge house and property and four wheelers and
cars and trucks and a Bright orang dodge... i think its an avenger?
With a hemi..! ITs NICE! and everytime we go over they give us farm
fresh eggs! And they had a brand new baby Pug! And they had a dog
that looks exactly like the beast from the sandlot. And the whole
family is way awesome!

 Then we went to the golden hills bbq and it was very boring. 

 Then we went to the bethkes and had a good time eating dessert and
sitting around a fire. 

 Sunday 8-14-11

 Went to church, then went to more church, then went and gave brother
Jacobson a blessing. I guess he threw out his back working on the
car. Then we went to the Bairds for dinner and i guess Sister Baird
used to be Miranda Kunz's roomate in hawii! Crazy huh!? So we had a
pretty good time talking. Then we set up appointments and stuff and
that was it! 

 So that's my week! Write me more letters and make sure they go to the
Ventura address! Because by next week i could be gone. 

 Anyways! I love you all! Hope you are all safe and are having a good
time watching all the amazing movies coming out and stuff haha.
Anyways i will talk to you guys later! 

Love you all! miss you all! 

 Love

Elder Crapo

8/8/11 Pictures

Llamas Roped.

Hello Family and Friends!

 

It was good to hear from all of you! I had lots of emails when i got to the computer today and everyones emails were short and simple! Which i like! since i dont have too much time on the computer its good to get a little update every now and then.  Its crazy all you guys have gone out and seen these cool movies! I have such a huge list! Cowboys and Aliens is already out!?! I swear i JUST watched the trailer for that! And Aurthur is already out on DVD?!?! That is crazy, i just watched the trailer for that as well! So nuts! Anyways i better get on with this week....

 

Monday 8-1-11

So we went to monday funday, and it was a pretty good turn out.  Played lots of games!

 

We did emails and went to the apartment to do laundry... pretty basic P-day

 

We ate lunch and shopped

 

Got our subway cards from the Johnsons, they chose subway instead of Quiznoz this time, but thats ok! Its so crazy! This family gives the missionaries $100 a month on food! They are so nice!

 

We went to brother gublers house to give him these papers that we had people at the baptism write their testimonies on.  He was going to bind them so we could give them to Sven to read.

 

Then we went to the Jacobsons, their cousin was in town and it was his birthday, he's not a member but i guess we made a good impression on him at monday funday.  Even though i did hit him very hard down below with a dodge ball... on accident! But while we were there they just started feeding us and stuff.  Them everyone started jumping into their pool... even with their clothes on.. It was pretty funny.  But we had a lot of fun hanging out with them.

 

Tuesday 8-2-11

We went to the other elders apartment, and sneakily put a million post it notes on their door.  Then door bell ditched them! It was funnY! I got pictures!

 

Then we went to brother Gublers to get the testimonies.  He did such a good job on them! It looked WAY good. 

 

We did Mormon.org and i ended up buying a memory chip converter thing, it will help speed up the process of putting pictures on emails and stealing pictures and videos from other elders cameras!

 

We ate subway with the other elders

 

Went to the Bennetts to see how they were doing.  They gave us a refferral to go see, so we went and saw them.. but they didnt answer the door.  I guess they are not as friendly as we thoght.

 

We then took Sven his book, and he loved it!

 

We got home and ordered hungry howies (pizza) 

 

then we went down stairs to kim and miguels and looked at the stars through a telescope.  It was pretty cool.

 

Wednesday 8-3-11

We went and picked up the other elders to take them to the Chiropractor.  I love going, it always makes me feel better.

 

Then we went to bear valley, everyone we went to go contact wasnt home :(

 

Came back and ate lunch.

 

Then we went to alpine forest and found a dead snake and put it in the back of our truck.  We left it coiled on brother moffatts door step because he wasnt home.  Then we left and while we were out we got a text from him that said we were idiots hahaha! owned.

 

So we went out to Cummings Valley and did some work out there  we spoke with a way awesome family that says they want to take us four wheeling on some indian trails! While i was there they asked us our names and when i told them mine the mom was like "Oh! The famous elder Crapo" i was like uh oh, what does that mean?  So either i've been doing good work or some young woman in the ward has a crush on me and is telling everyone.... i think she said i had a secret admirer.... great. But when we left she gave us 2 dozen farm fresh eggs, a pack of bacon and a pack of hot dogs! It was sweet!

 

Then we went back to brother moffatts house where we just hung out for a bit, and gave his wife a blessing because she is having surgery soon.

 

No one was really home all day :( Which kind of stunk.

 

When we went home, all our neighbors were outside having a huge dodgeball fight.  It was crazy.  So we cooked up our bacon and eggs and had dinner.

 

Then we took the dead snake to the other elders apartment and put it on their door step.  this prank only lasted about 5 seconds :( But at least we got em going!

 

Thursday 8-4-11

We took our new food to the other elders apartment and ate there. 

 

Then we all went to bakersfield and had a pretty darn good District Meeting

 

We came home and played with the neighbor kids for a while then taught them the plan of salvation! woo hoo!

 

Then we went to the Wagners for dinner and they always make food that reminds me of home! He said that was the best compliment that he'd ever had.  he always makes like... european dishes because he lived in italy for a long time.

 

then we went to brother Kannards and helped him cover his humungo camper.  I wore a pair of pants that i hadnt worn in a while... they are way tight!  Ugh oh....

 

Then we went to the other elders apartments and i made a mask out of a volleyball skinn that fell off.  It was funny.  I took pictures.  And then i wanted to see how much i've grown since i've been out.  So when i left i was...

 

6 feet 2 inches

155 pounds

 

now i'm

 

6 feet 3 inches

185 pounds

 

Haha i cant help it now! But hey! I'm happy!

 

Friday 8-5-11

So i forgot to write in my journal this day... and i also forgot to bring my planner... i could have sworn i put it in my bag... oh well i guess you dont know what happens this day.

 

Saturday 8-6-11

This day was easy to remember because we ROPED llamas! IT was soooooo much fun!  I wasnt feeling well... i've been sick the end of this week but we went out anyways.

 

We came in and i cant remember what else we did... cuz i forgot to write in my journal again.  But that night we went to the bethkes and ate dinner with them.   It was a lot of fun.

 

Sunday 8-7-11

We went to church.  Got called away during church because a member got lock jaw and we had to go to the ER and give her a blessing.... That was cool. She's fine now.

 

Then we came home and i felt horrible and i crashed for 4 hours.  Then we went to bed.  I havent been feeling good at all lately :(

 

I think i've got a chest cold, but its taking all of my energy.

 

Well i'll try and post some pictures for you guys.  Love you all very much and i'll talk to you next week! Bye!

8/1/11 Pictures

That horse thing is hanging in the apartment, its me and elder pulham roping together.

that guy on the rock that's elder Winward! he's a stud

Sven Erik Zobler and his GF Megan DeSilva. She introduced us to him!

A Baptism! Yay!

Dear Family and Friends!

 

So its been an outstanding week!  We had a baptism! YES! Sven Zobler is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Bear Valley Ward! I'll try and post a picture with the email. Or at least send it to Sarah so she can put it on the blog, which i've checked out! That thing is sick Sarah! Keep it up!  Anyways my mum told me she was going to try and put some CD's together for me, Simon should be doing it too because i've seen his stash! Anyways, preferences, i am in love with the "Friday Night Lights" CD. Its way good. If you want to send stuff that sounds like that... do it!  Anyways... Time for my week.

 

Monday 7-25-11

we had P-Day. We met at the Park and had some spiritual thoughts and breakfast.  Played with the frisbee for a little bit as well.  Then we moved over to the church and did emails.  Dad sent me a picture of how to tie this knot that i had forgetten.  Thank you very much, i felt stupid afterwards. 

 

We went to thrift stores after, we were going to see if we could find some stellar ties! I did! i spent $8 on like... 5 ties and 1 pair of pants.  The pants are awesome! They are Navy blue and fit perfect!

 

Then we went to the other elders apartment and chilled for a while, finished laundry and what not.

 

Then we went and got ready for the day, i got to wear all my newish stuff from the thrift stores, i looked gooooood ;)

 

We met Sven at the church and had an awesome lesson, then we put together his baptismal program.  I was so stoked and nervous because he asked me to baptize him!

 

We also are good friends with the 2 little spanish kids that live below us, the mom told us if we ever saw them outside to teach them, so that night when we came in we pulled out 4 chairs and put them in front of our appartment door and taught them the discussion on the restoration.  They are really interested and the parents are awesome.  We are hoping to get into the house and teach the whole family.  They are nice, we took them two boxes of tomatoes and they made us salsa! It was SO GOOOOOOD.  But we also gave the kids a book of mormon stories book and the 12 year old daughter finished it twice in 2 days! it was nuts she says she loved it! it was such a good day, loads of blessings!

 

Tuesday 7-26-11

In the morning we worked on getting the baptismal program all set up.  Then we went to the other elders apartment to get a book of mormon stories for those kids that we had started teaching, when we saw the kids that morning Kimberly (the daughter) had the book of mormon in hand and had already started it.  But she is only 12 so the book of mormon stories made a lot more sense.

 

Then we went to a refferals work place in Tehach, and then ran into a guy that straight up told us that he knew the book of mormon was true... he was kind of crazy though... haha

 

We had lunch... nothing special just some epic pasta roni!

 

Then we went to stallion springs and spoke with brother Moats.  He said that he wants us to rope some llamas soon, some friends of his want a couple, and so they takes it down to 10 llamas and the other 4 are going to have "shooting accidents" hahaha! That's what brother moats says! Dont worry! i'll take pictures for you all!

 

We went and saw the Kernizitskas, that family is so dope! they have caught some cool animals, they also have an amazing view from their house. We took some cool pictures.

 

We ate dinner at the wilsons, where we got the potpouri for mother.  I'm glad you like it mum! I'll be sure to let her know!

 

Went to see the bishop to get more things ready for the baptism.

 

Then we came home and moved the furniture around because we were getting sick of the same stuff.

 

Wednesday 7-27-11

We went to the Chiropractor! He says that my neck is like 80% Better! thats why i dont get headaches as often anymore!

 

Then we went to the Warings and helped put some packets together that will help the members do missionary work.  It was not fun.  They fed us food which was not good. yucky.

 

then we went and did roofing with the other two elders, that was pretty fun. 

 

Then we went to grandmas to take some tupperware back, and ended up staying a long time and then they fed us dinner.

 

Thursday 7-28-11

We drove to Bakes for district meeting and then found out that we were supposed to be at our building, so the elders from Bakes were at our building and we were at theirs, we had to drive all the way back! Thats like driving from Sandy to Provo!

 

We had a short district meeting because we were 45 minutes late...

 

Then the other two elders went on exchanges and we got the new black elder, his name is Elder Lifungula, he's awesome.  I bought everyone Quiznoz with my gift card a member gave me.  Then we went to brother moffatts and he was on duty (CHP) and just chatted.  then we went to the Wards, and ended up burying a dog.  This dog had been left out for animals to nibble and so they put him in a bag, but the bag was full of maggets and blood, and the girl couldnt watch as i picked up the bag to put it in the hole we had just dug.  It was pretty sick, poor dog, He was a bassit hound.

 

Friday 7-29-11

We got elder Nyland from exchanges.  Nyland, or Bill Ny or Nigel, is the coolest ever.  He can do a sponge bob laugh, scooby doos voice, yodas voice, the cheat off of homestar runner.com, and he does a wicked sweet wookie sound! I'm going to record him.

Then we went and did more roofing! Ate lunch then changed and got the programs ready for the baptism. Ate dinner and did weekly planning at the other elders apartment.  Not a whole lot happened friday... haha just getting ready for the baptism really...

 

Saturday 7-30-11

woke up and did service for sister Peterson, just helping her trim treas.

 

Then went to other elders apartment and took them with us to the Leishmans for breakfast, they made huge omlettes!

 

Went to the Kannards and helped him in the yard, just pulling weeds and stuff.  And they always feed us! i love that house, those guys are awesome!

went to the apartment, no mail :( got showered and dressed for the baptism

 

Then we went to the store and picked up some things and the guy in front of us, looked and smelled a little gruff said that he had nephew that went on a mission and he was raised in th LDS faith and he has lots of respect for us.  And he said "dinner's on me guys" and gave us his change, which was like $20! i hate it when people give us money! I feel like a pitty party :(  But it was way nice of him to do that.

 

Then we went to the baptism.  It went REALLY well, i was so happy to be able to baptize him, i didnt mess up! but i was sure nervous!

 

After the baptism we were heading home and there was a little dog in the middle of the road and we pulled over to pick him up and check his tags to get him back to his owner, this dog looked like wishbone, and then he started booking it down the street, so i chased him! And this dog ran for like 2 miles! I ran full sprint for like half a mile and this dog wouldnt slow down for a second! he was going like 25 MPH!!! it was so nuts!

 

Then we went home and ate salsa that the neighbors made for us! It was addicting! I couldnt stop! Me and my Comp ate a whole bag of chips!

 

Sunday 7-31-11

We went to church forever! 7 hrs like usual!

 

Sister Wilson had made us Cinimon rolls and we took them home and ate them after church, they were scrumptious! Then we went to the Nichols house for dinner, the perry's were the ones that signed up, but the husband went out of town so we ate at the nichols, they made us a ton of Lasagna! we shared the missionary packets with both familys and they committed to doing it! I hope that bumps up the work!

 

Then we went to John and Michelle Kings house where we taught the plan of salvation, along with the gospel of jesus christ, it went really well and i think we answered a lot of questions.  They agreed to praying about the things we teach.  I really am happy for them.  They are so cool. We were there for quite a while and got in around 10... but it still was a pretty good but long day.

 

Well that is it for this week.  I'm sorry if these emails dont make sense.  If you have any questions about anything, just email me.  Miss ya'll and love ya'll.  I'm having a grand old time out here on my mission.  Send me stuff! Si?  Oh that's my spanish that i'm learning from the little kids we are teaching, they've taught me all sorts of spanish! They are awesome! Anyways, let me know if there is anything i can do for you folks back home! 

 

Love

Elder CRAPO!!!!!

7/25/11 Pictures